Our journey in the Autism Spectrum

Posts tagged ‘Big Wide World’

This morning at 6:30pm I was awakened by my little dude. He crawled into bed and snuggled up, sleepily asking, “Watch a show?”

I rolled over just enough to reach for the TV remote from the dressing table but not enough to disturb his closeness. I immediately relinquished the remote and his fingers deftly worked the buttons to search for the subject of his latest intense interest. PEEP and the Big Wide World. Morning, noon, night and various times in between. As I lay there, eyes closed, listening to Joan Cusack and envisioning her trying desperately to drink soda from a can (name that movie!), I pondered why PEEP, of all the shows we watch (we’re a TV/video family, I will admit. Temple Grandin would be appalled!) why would this one hold his interest for so long over these many past months?

The more I thought about it I began to see. Three friends, Peep, Chirp and Quack, all sort of odd in their own ways, go out and explore their “world”. They have adventures in science as they learn about their environment and each other; their differences and their sameness in their surroundings. Processing, logic, trial and error, science. Yep, right in my dude’s wheelhouse. As Joan continued to narrate this morning, I began to think about Henry’s world over this last week. SO MANY NEW THINGS all in one week. LOTS of new experiences and data to PROCESS. Even more when you take in to account our entire summer!

In this past week alone, Henry experienced soccer outside of our backyard for the first time, surrounded by strangers, thrown into the mix right away. At his Kindergarten orientation he went into his new classroom (eventually) at a new school for the very first time. Every single person and thing in that room was new and unknown. He had a practice bus ride. Our schedule was thrown off on top of it all this week due to that limbo time of summer when the routine of camps and activities are over but the school routine hasn’t started yet. The weeks where we try to cram in all the last minute running, preparations and appointments before the school year begins. And most of this week Grant has been out of town; something that is a very rare occurrence. None of us are used to him being gone for much more than a work day, let alone almost 5 days!

So much anxiety. Through the roof anxiety! But he’s mostly been able to hold it all together at least until we got home. That’s big! That’s a major step in his learning to cope. Some things I was hoping would have gone better for him, like his soccer experience. Not quite a disaster but I wouldn’t call it a success either. But we will keep trying. Or at least we will keep trying to keep trying other things anyway.

We’ve had a summer of success really! New things, new people in particular, he has processed and figured out and got through them, if not always with flying colors, but he did it! This spring, Maya, our RCP, came into our lives and she has made such a difference ! Henry has accepted her as someone who belongs here. That in and of itself is BIG! (I really do need to share more about our Maya! She certainly deserves more that just a mention in a blog post!) Henry participated in a mainstream part-day summer camp and actually did quite well! We have spent more time at the pool and in water this summer than ever before (with much of that opportunity because of Maya!) and that was a great success!

On Tuesday my little dude will get on a school bus and head to his first day of Kindergarten. There will so so much to take in, to explore, to process, to learn. It’s a big, wide world and it’s waiting…just for him.

PEEP’s Theme Song:

Well, it’s a sunny dayI feel brand newThere’s about a million thingsThat I could do!Whoa-oh-ohWould you like toDo them, too?YeahWell, it’s a big wide worldAnd it’s waiting for me and you!

Let’s look aroundWhat will we see?Round every corner, a discovery!Whoa-oh-ohThere’s no place I’d rather be!Oh, yeahWell, it’s a big wide worldAnd it’s waiting for me and you!

Written by: Eggplant Music and Sound Design

Performed by: Taj Mahal

[P.S. from the Editor~ Oh, yeah, and for any of you that may also be a product of the 80’s and/or “classic” movie buffs: